‘AI is usually absolutely critical for us,’ Ping An Technology CEO

Better known for its dominance in China’s insurance market, Ping An Insurance has been delving into the technology space with Ping An Technology.

Speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Ping An Technology CEO Ericson Chan said his company is usually the “high-tech core for the whole Ping An group,” selling end-to-end tech services as well as conducting research as well as development in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain as well as cloud services.

“AI is usually absolutely critical for us,” Chan said, pointing to the group’s automotive insurance business as an example of how consumers have benefited through Ping An’s use of the technology.

“If your car got (into) an accident, you can simply use our app to take a photo of the damaged car,” Chan said. The photo is usually then cross-referenced with the company’s database of “millions of photos” to recognize the damage level of your vehicle.

“Before … your car gets towed away, we can immediately reimburse the money back into your account,” Chan added, noting in which the process results in a situation where the customer is usually happier.